Love Save the Empty
by TheKingKez
Summary: Alex thought he knew Matthias well; Matthias thought getting his life turned right side up would be easy. But sometimes, facing the truth and getting better hurt more than the bruises themself. DenNor; Highschool AU.
1. Prologue

He looked up at the mirror, tiredly noting his current appearance. His hair was flatter than usual, sticking out rather than up, and his bright blue eyes were dulled over. He groaned and rubbed at the bags under his eyes, wishing them away. Bringing his hands up to his hair he ruffled it back into its usual mess before pinching his cheeks to physically bring his mouth into a smile.

"Alright Matthias Daniel Køhler, you're young, you're happy and you're full of life." He dropped his hands to pick up his school bag. "And you get to see mig Nordmand Alexander again soon~" he sing-songed happily to himself and he slipped downstairs, watching his volume carefully. He embraced the cool air as he walked outside and set off on his normal, brisk walk to school.

* * *

"_What do you want Dan? I have Hrafn waiting for me." Alex looked blankly at his friend as he pulled him around a corner into privacy._

"_It'll just take a minute," he assured, turning to him with his back against the wall. Inside his head and chest everything was going haywire. "Nor, Alex, I need to tell you something." He paused, looking down at the ground. Alex waited silently for him to talk again, casually checking his watch._

_Matthias cursed himself in his head. He had never been good at talking anyway aside being blunt, so that may have to do for now. "Alex, I… I like you. More than a friend, I mean really like you." He paused again, waiting for a reply, even a reaction. None came. "I-it's alright if you don't, I mean if you don't even swing that way we can forget it, like this never happened." He babbled on, burning in embarrassment. "I hope this didn't ruin everything. I just…" Matthias_

_Alex stood rigid and silent. His eyes flickered sideway, then down, then towards his watch again. "Listen, Dan, I… I need to go get Ice- Hrafn now." He muttered, turning and quickly walking away, leaving Matthias alone against the wall._

* * *

Matthias instantly perked up upon entering the school grounds, spotting Alex and Hrafn leaning outside a door, their usual morning place. Eagerly he ran over to them dodging (and occasionally bowling) his way through the crowds. "Nor! Ice!" They both looked up a bit as he popped up next to them, slinging an arm around Alex's shoulder. The two brothers' uniforms looked immaculate and even more so now that Matthias was there with his own clothes messy and un-tucked. "What's up?"

"Aside from the time it takes you to get here each morning, nothing much," Alex replied coolly. Matthias laughed it off, poking the smaller teen's cheek playfully.

"But you still waited. Both of did, so I can't have taken that long." He teased. Alex batted his hand away, only half scowling at the dumb blonde.

"Speaking of which," Hrafn cut in. "I should be meeting Kaoru about now, so I'll leave you two alone." His brother nodded and Matthias waved him off.

"Have fun with _Kaaaoru,_ Icey," he chimed suggestively. Hrafn heated up.

"D-don't say it like that!" He called back before hurrying off, satisfied with the pinched cheek Alex was giving the idiot.

_

* * *

Matthias trudged his way through school the next day, keeping his smile up with his friends. He grinned at Alex and laughed along with everything. Everything was still normal._

_After the bell had rung for the end of the day, he felt a hand tug at his wrist. Looking down, he met Alexander's eyes. "Come with me." He didn't nod, just followed as his friend led him back to the same corner, the same wall as the day before. "It's about yesterday." He caught Alex's eyes again, shying away from the serious look._

"_Like I said Nor, it's fine. You rejected me and I can live with that." Matthias moved to slip away from him, but Alex was too quick with grabbing his sleeve._

"_I never rejected you Dan. I just ran away like an idiot." Matthias stopped and stared at him in shock._

"_So, you-"_

"_I don't know how I feel, but… you do make me happy. You're a good friend so if you like me, I guess… we could, um, try it?" He shifted his feet awkwardly, cursing those words for making themselves so damn difficult. The Dane suddenly pulled him into a tight hug and Alex could feel the smile on his face._

"_Takk, mig Norge! Min ramt Norske!__"_

"_Yeah yeah, fine, ok, I need to breath too idiot!"_

* * *

"Just because I'm gay doesn't mean Hrafn is." Matthias just chuckled as his face was released from the painful hold. "Have you been to your locker yet?" Matthias shook his head.

"Nope, there's too many cute distractions like you lurking around here ya know?" Alex rolled his eyes.

"Well let's go now; I don't want to be late to class because of your fascination with cute things." The Dane just nodded and set off with him, babbling about something-er-rather Alexander was only half listening to. He still didn't stop when they had reached his locker and he was trying to sort out his books, which surprised them by not all falling out as soon as he opened the door (they had tried a few seconds later, but luckily practised skill had stopped them.)

"You really need to take better care of your books." Alex chided across him, staring at the beaten up books in his friend's hand.

"Hey, at least they've been used. It's like a well loved toy or well-worn clothing" Matthias said, taking on a defensive look.

"I can see they've been used; as what I'm not completely sure." Dan just laughed, slamming his locker closed.

"I'm not that cruel to my stuff Nor." He took a quick glance at the clock on the wall. "I gotta shoot over to my next class now so I'll seeya at break." He kissed the top of Norway's head quickly before running off. "Bye!" Norway blushed and quickly glanced around to check if anyone was watching. All he saw was the clock which received a glaring.

"Idiot nearly made me late anyway."

* * *

"_Is there a reason behind you spending so much time at my house?" Matthias looked up at the Norwegian hanging over him from his position lying on the couch. He grinned up him, flicking the fringe hanging down off his head._

"_Becaaaause... I like you?"_

"_That's too cheesy." Alex took a seat on the arm rest, still looking down at his boyfriend. "You see me every day at school and you can text me and you can email me and you can call me and you still have to hang around at my house most afternoons and weekends?" Matthias sat up, pulling Alex down onto the couch next to him._

"_Yup, that sounds about right." He agreed, holding the other with a firm arm around his waist. Alex wriggled a bit in his grasp. "Doesn't that sound like something I'd do Alex?"_

"_...yes," the Norwegian agreed begrudgingly. He shifted a bit more, trying to loosen the grip around his middle. "You know hugging me isn't going to change anything."_

"_I know," Matthias chirped, nuzzling his face into Alex's hair, much akin to a cat. The smaller blonde gave an annoyed sigh and stopped moving._

And so life goes on...

**

* * *

AN: There, there, it's up! Maybe now I'll feel obliged to do chapter two before chapter five! (I write completely out of order. OTL)**

**This seems rather tame and normal right now, but it'll get more interesting! There will be periodic flashbacks but that's to aid the story, so they won't be like this chapter, every 300 words.**

**I'm really bad with multi-chapter fics (hell, even two parters!) but I'm going to try hard on this one since I have to whole plot planned out. Wish me luck and don't hold your breath between chapters! ^^;**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Forgot to mention in the first chapter, Hrafn is my fan-name for Iceland. ^^; Pronounced '(H)Rah-vin' (with a light H sound; kinda breathy) which is Norse for 'raven'. I know it's a lot more awkward than Eirik or something but I fell in love with the name. _ Sorry if that's bothersome...**

**

* * *

**

"Urgh, finally, I'm starved." Matthias complained, taking his seat next to Hrafn at the lunch table. Across from him Tino smiled warmly, a stark contrast to the boy sat next to him; Berwald's face was dark and serious as it usually was.

"Moi moi Matthias." Tino chirped cheerily, watching the Dane sit down and immediately begin guzzling his food.

"Hey Finny," he greeted through his bread filled mouth. Berwald gave some sort of snort, drawing the attention to him. "What're ya glowering at now?" Matthias shot back. The Swede shook his head.

"Ya t'ble m'nn'rs are atr'cious," he commented. Matthias poked his tongue out at him, spilling crumbs onto the table as he did.

"Whatever, Frankenstein. Never stopped any from liking me has it?" Hrafn blatantly ignored the two in favour of his own food and thoughts while Tino, who had learnt previously to hold his tongue and save his breath in these situations, tried to do the same to little avail.

"I'll b' gl'd ta b' the f'rst th'n, th'gh I'm pr'b'bly n't." He took another mouthful before commenting again. "'Nd Fr'nk'nst'in was the sc'ent'st, n't the m'nst'r."

"...whatever." Matthias spared him one last glare before returning his top priority to food. Tino let out a small breath he didn't know he was holding and thankfully didn't see Berwald's scary, most likely meant to be apologetic "you know how that Dane is", look sent his way.

It was even more of a relief for them when Alex showed up, a small lunch in hand, and took a seat beside them. "Hej," he greeted shortly. Berwald and Hrafn gave him nods of acknowledgement and Tino repeated his cheerful greeting.

"Alex!" Matthias exclaimed happily, pulling him close by the arm the moment he sat down. "How are ya?"

"Fine." The smaller teen wriggled and pushed away from the grasp he found himself in. "You can let go now."

"I _can_," he drawled, sounding as if he was contemplating it despite obviously doing nothing of the sort. "Hey Alex, you like me don't cha?" Alexander sighed, beginning to eat his apple.

"You are aware of our relationship aren't you?" he asked dryly.

"Yeah yeah, but I want you to say it!"

"Why?"

"To prove to the Swede that how I eat doesn't stop people from liking me," he replied. Not before shoving another chunk of sandwich in his mouth, accentuating his point. Alex gave him a slight look of disdain, finally managing to remove the hand from his arm.

"It _is_ slightly off putting you know," he commented, shifting away subtly. Matthias frowned slightly but recovered quickly.

"Yeah, but you still like me!" The Norwegian shrugged, calmly nibbling at his apple. The table lapsed into mostly silence, partially broken by the aforementioned eating habits, until Matthias had finished his lunch and couldn't sit there with his mouth shut. Luckily for Alex he chose Tino as his target for conversation. Especially lucky since the topic of discussion somehow turned to over-large food Matthias had read about in the world record book, something the smaller blonde wasn't quite as well read on.

"The thing was so huge! It was hilarious!" Tino laughed at his friend's childish recount and exaggerated arm movements. Alex however eyed him up suspiciously.

"Oi anko." Matthias cut off and looked at him.

"Ja? You haven't called me that in a while."

"What's wrong with your other arm?" he asked, ignoring the second comment. "You were waving your right one around but you've barely moved your left one." The taller blonde paused for a moment before grinning sheepishly.

"So ya noticed. I think I must've pulled a muscle or something 'cause it's been really sore." He rubbed it gingerly as if to emphasize his point. Alex rolled his eyes, going back to his food, muttering something along the lines of "idiot".

"Are you sure it's alright Dan?" Tino asked. "You could always take it to the school nurse and see what she thinks about it."

"Nah, it's fine. I'm tougher than that," he assured, hitting his fist to his chest confidently. Changing the topic, he turned back to the boy beside him. "Anyway Alex, what's up with that nickname again? You haven't used it in so long I've forgotten why you even made it up." Alex made no hurry to answer, taking a long drink before replying.

"I started calling you that because of how uncoordinated you are. You waving around one arm like an idiot just then reminded me of how un-co you are, anko." Matthias snapped his fingers.

"Right! That was it. But I'm not _that_ uncoordinated ya know," he said jovially in his defence.

"You fell off a fence the first day I met you. First impressions aren't always good, but they stick." He took another bite of food before adding "that one was pretty accurate though."

"That was one time," the Dane shot back.

"No, it was three times, then again the next day."

"We were all young once right?"

"You were thirteen; a teenager."

"And now I'm sixteen. I'm better than that."

"It was the same fence you still fall off sometimes when you walk from school to my house. Why do you even have to walk on fences anko?" he muttered as an afterthought. Tino watched their interaction contently from across the table, eyes flicking back and forth between them.

"What's got you so happy?" Hrafn asked, raising an eyebrow at the complacent smile on his friend's face. The Fin looked over to him, wearing the same smile.

"Isn't it good that your brother has someone he can talk so casually with? It's better than him being so silent all the time." The younger teen made a face and shrugged.

"You read too many psychology books Tino."

* * *

The last period of the day, and the only class that Matthias and Alex shared, was English. When the bell had rung, the other three had split up and headed off immediately, leaving the pair alone together. Well, as alone as you could get in a school hallway. Matthias was rambling on about something, trying to squeeze in the end of the story before they got to class where he'd be told to be quiet.

"Then he said he was just getting his pen from under my chair, but how lame of an excuse is that? Hey, were you listening? It was such an awesome story!" Alex pushed the boy backwards out of his personal space, sliding into his seat.

"We have class now." Matthias frowned at him but since the teacher was already in front of the board h thought better than staying and arguing. With a quick ruffle of the Norwegian's fringe he dashed off to his own seat, dumping his bag and slouching over his desk. He didn't find English very interesting obviously. Alex enjoyed the reading and the thinking but he personally couldn't sit still long enough to concentrate on that. Most lessons divulged into him and Gilbert playing paper soccer between their adjacent desks. What was the point of paying attention if you wouldn't get it anyway?

Alex still caught him up on this after the bell rang.

"I see you wasted another perfectly good lesson there anko." He commented dryly as they walked. The Dane shrugged, still tossing the balled up paper between his hands.

"No I didn't, I was practising! Next time I'll give that albino what's coming to him!" He grinned, pumping his fist into the air. Alex gave an annoyed glance to the paper as it resumed bouncing side to side.

"If you want to be as good as he is you'd have to devote every class period you have to practice. And no, that is not a suggestion." Quickly he snatched the paper out of his hands and discarded it in a passing rubbish bin. Matthias stared intently at the bin as they walked past.

"Ya know, that was my English sheet," he informed him blandly. Alex raised an eyebrow, noticing the bin getting slowly further away as they continued their pace.

"I'm not getting them." He watched the taller teen shrug. "And I guess you aren't either."

"Why bother? I can always borrow yours." He missed the small 'tch' of disapproval Alex made as they manoeuvred their way out of the school doors and onto the foot path.

"How you act like this and not fail English is beyond me." The snide comment flew right over the Dane's head and he responded with a proud smile.

"I do a lot of things that amaze you don't I? Pass classes, have a part time job, be friends with my ex..."

"That last one's just unnatural," Alex cut in.

"Other people have done the same," Matthias reasoned with a shrug.

"Yes but this is you, and your ex is Elizaveta Héderváry." This had always been a great surprise to the Norwegian, even if he didn't act like it. The two of them, (with their explosive personalities) dated for a while (not so surprising) then broke up (only slightly surprising really), then remained friends like it never happened. And they were friends _before_ he and Matthias got together and became a treasured couple in her 'boy's love' obsession, so that shot down one theory.

"Hey, she's not so bad."

"Notice how she acts around her other ex?" Gilbert had been sporting his usual ice-pack to the head in English earlier which often only meant one thing.

"Gil's an ass though." _And you're not?_ He kept that last thought to himself, not wanting to commit to any kind of conversation at that moment. They were still walking together, which meant Matthias had every intention of crashing at his place that afternoon. "Hey, where's Ice?" he asked suddenly, looking around like he'd find the answer hiding in the bushes.

"He's coming home later." Alex spared another glace up at his boyfriend, stating "I have homework to do tonight." He heard a small, concealed whine and rolled his eyes. "You have homework to do too."

"How do you know?"

"You always do Dan." The Dane pouted, shoving his hands sulkily into his pockets.

"Whatever. You'll help me right?" he asked, looking hopeful. Alex said nothing for a moment; he'd seen that request coming from a mile away.

"Perhaps." He decided. "Will you be quiet when you're doing the things you can do?" Matthias smiled, looking up in mock-thought.

"Perhaps." He mimicked. "Does that make this a deal?" Alex paused again for effect, then replied with the word they were both expecting..

"Perhaps."

* * *

Matthias, true to his word, has attempting his homework quietly, after their afternoon snack of course. He'd tried not to bug Alex too much as well, seeing how concentrated he was, but gave in after he got bored of doodling on the questions he had no clue how to answer. His visit stretched on into the early evening, then later evening at nearing on 8 o'clock. Homework had been finished and Matthias politely entertained for the duration of his welcome; it was leaking into the time when annoyance was building between the brothers.

"Hey Alex," Dan pestered. "Wanna play cards or something?"

"No, Dan, I just want to read." The Dane grumbled, staring at the offending book.

"Why would you wanna do that? It's boring and you can't read with two people." Alex flipped the page with a bit too much force, face darkening.

"Some of us actually enjoy intellectual activity, Matthias," he replied, stressing the teen's proper name.

"And others still have some that need to be taken care of," Hrafn mentioned from over at the coffee table, frustration evident in his tone. "So will you kindly shut it for even just a few minutes?" Matthias did quiet down, but barely for a few seconds, let alone the minutes asked of him.

"I'm bored," he complained again. "Can't we do something else?" Alex finally looked up at him pointedly.

"If you're so bored then go home already." The suggestion only made him frown more.

"I'd rather be having fun with you," he sulked.

"It's not our job to entertain you and it's nearly dinner time anyway." Alex argued, exasperated. "You should head home," he suggested in a demanding voice.

"I could stay here for dinner?" he asked hopefully. Hrafn finally threw down his pen and stood up.

"There's no reason for you to be hanging around here like some spoilt child demanding attention and food. This is our house and we've already put up with you for long enough. Just go home already!" He snapped, raising his voice at the other teen. Alex barely blinked at his younger brother, not being a stranger to Hrafn's occasional bursts of emotion. Matthias must have been used to it as well, but he knew how to react. He shrunk back for a moment before taking to his feet.

"I guess you're right," he resigned, picking up his school bag from the floor beside the couch. "I'll go." The younger's harsh face still remained, unaffected as of yet. He began walking out, pausing only for a moment. "No chance of a goodbye kiss then?" he added sheepishly, stood at the door. Alex sent him on final warning glare, overshadowed by his brother's own fuming one. "Fine," he sighed. He darted over to sneak a kiss onto the blonde head anyway before making his real exit. Once the sound of his steps on the gravel driveway had faded away Hrafn's pen returned to the paper, scribbling furiously again.

"Honestly Alex, you need to train him to stop being so clingy," he chided, anger ebbing away to frustration now that the situation was dealt with.

"You make him sound like some sort of stray dog." Alex closed his book, moving to check on dinner.

"Well if the shoe fits," he heard his brother mutter. He ignored it, leaving to the kitchen. Matthias did get clingy and annoying to a horrendous extent, but he was probably more accustomed to it than his brother. Alex would probably get to that level of anger after a week non-stop of his boyfriend, but Hrafn would probably blow his top within a day or two of 24/7 Matthias. Putting the thought out of his mind, he grabbed gloves to check how whatever concoction of said brother's cooking was doing.

* * *

**I'm glad that there are people who are already beginning to like this. It'll get much more interesting soon though. As with most of you, I'm a student, so I have to be focused on a lot of other things, but hopefully you'll stick with me anyway. R&R please!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: March is a horrible month for my having free time. Sorry about the horrendous wait for this chapter! It didn't help that it seemed to enjoy being difficult. _ Good news is that chapters 3 and 4 are already finished!~ (I told you I work out of order.) They should be up in a few days or maybe a week (I don't want to get people's hopes up about my updating speed. OTL)

* * *

**

The next morning, Friday, Alex was the only one waiting for Matthias before school.

"Ice ain't still upset about last night, is he?" the Dane asked as he approached. Alex glanced up with an unimpressed look.

"He may be." He picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. "It isn't either of our duties to wait for you every morning."

"But you do! You always do." Alex shot him a mean look and began walking. He knew Matthias could catch up to him, but it was the effect he wanted.

"Usually, except for when you hang around at our house for hours the night before, bugging us and going far enough to make my brother blow his top. Then I only show up so you don't make a scene when you find me later. I think you're more trouble than you're worth sometimes." He vented with a relatively calm demeanour.

"I know, I know," Matthias agreed as though trying to prove innocence. "I'm obnoxious, I'm annoying, I like you too much to be healthy-"

"This isn't a matter of how much you like me," Alex cut in. "In fact if you liked me that much you could show me by not doing some things you do." The taller teen shrugged, running his hand through his hair and brushing it off his face.

"Nah, I like my way better. But I won't bother you tonight! I gotta work." Alex stopped briefly at his locker, opening it briefly to gather his stationary for the day.

"Thank Heavens for that," he muttered mostly to himself. He sighed roughly at the few pieces of paper that had obviously been slipped around the door into the locker covered with obscene words and insults. Balling them up, he shoved them at the back of the top shelf, noting to trash or burn them later.

"More hate notes?" Matthias asked, leaning over his shoulder. Alex 'hm'd in reply. "Just ignore the fuckers." Despite the fact Matthias was standing up for him, Alex kept his reply bitter.

"Easy for you to say when you're not the small, nerdy gay boy, Mr Tall, Handsome, Bisexual." He muttered as he pulled out the books, lined up neatly for ease of access, and closed the door again.

"Hey! People hate on bi guys just as much as gay guys," Matthias huffed. "And I'm dating you, so to most people I'm as good as gay." He poked Alex's shoulder. "_You_ have a 'side' at least. I don't. Not that I care," he finished with a self confident grin. The shorter teen looked up at him but stopped before he could open his mouth, eyebrows furrowing.

"What happened to your head?" he inquired directly. Matthias looked confused, hand travelling up to where the other's eyes were locked. He made a small sound of realization as his fingers brushed a tender bruise just below the hairline.

"Oh yeah. There's an awesome story behind this one! I've gotta tell you guys at lunch." He beamed with proud excitement. Alex's eyes flashed with mild annoyance.

"This one's going to be just like the last one isn't it?" Matthias smiled on innocently.

"Of course not! All my battle stories are Matthias originals!" They both knew that wasn't what Alex had meant but ignored it.

"Whatever. I'll get an earful of it later." Alex turned to leave, brushing the teen off.

"Hold on," Matthias caught his hand. "You owe me a goodbye kiss."

"I owe you nothing." He tried pulling his hand away, but Matthias held on tight. Annoying.

"Come on, or I'll make a big scene out of it," he threatened sneakily. With a sigh, Alex pressed a single kiss to his cheek and wriggled out of the way. From the looks of it, no one was staring at them luckily. He really hated public affection; turning heads like that wasn't enjoyable at all. On the other hand, Matthias loved it. That damn, stupid, Dane. Luckily he was happy to trot off after that; it'd be a few hours before they met up again and Matthias had some explaining to do.

* * *

Matthias didn't show up to their table at morning break. The occurrence wasn't anything drastic, seeing as he probably had the most friends out of their usual group. There was a high chance that he and Gilbert were off causing trouble in some other part of the school, or that Matthias was hoping Ice would be less prickly if he avoided him for a bit. Either way didn't overly bother any of the other Scandinavians as they ate their food peacefully, and quietly.

English wasn't a part of their timetables today, so Alex was free from him until lunch it seemed. He emerged from physics and headed straight to his locker to rearrange his books before the next lesson. Glancing briefly over to the right he saw Berwald, a head above the crowd, at his own locker. He didn't pay much mind to it; they barely spoke, to each other even less so. However, he couldn't ignore it when the other teen walked over to him.

"Hey," Berwald greeted, leaning slightly on another locker door. Alex looked up to acknowledge him, closing his own before speaking in reply.

"Hey." He could tell the Swede has just had PE; his hair was sticking to his forehead and his face had a bit more colour that usual. He hoped that their reason for talking wouldn't be to inform him of another attempted murder between the teen and Matthias last period. "Do you need something?"

"It's 'bout M'tthias." _Oh good grief..._ Alex slumped with annoyance.

"What did he do this time?" he resigned to asking.

"'D'nno." _Don't know?_ "'Act'lly it's 'bout 'is 'rm," he clarified, tapping his left arm. "He h'd b'nd'ges, r'nd one of 'em, th' s're one. D'dn't look l'ke a p'll'd m'scle." Alex frowned, eyebrows knitting together. They were aware of the decreasing amount of people around them, both moving to go. "J'st th'ght ya sh'ld know inc'se ya d'dn't."

"Right," Alex replied tersely. "Thanks, I'll ask him about that. He's already got some explaining to do." With a last exchange of nods they walked off past each other. Alex was certain he would get the facts out of his boyfriend easily; Matthias was a terrible liar.

* * *

The blonde in question had returned without issue to their table at lunch, full plate of cafeteria food in front of him. He grinned brightly to Alex's arrival, shifting over unnecessarily as a gesture of welcoming. Alex took another place across from him without expression, folding his hands on the table in a serious manner.

"Are you going to explain?" he asked directly. The Dane looked surprised as if he didn't know what he was asking about, continuing to nibble on his food.

"But no one else is even here yet. I don't wanna have to say my awesome story five times over." Of course, bruises were all fun and games.

"So this isn't serious at all?" he asked, deadpan.

"Well, it's seriously awesome!" Alex grabbed his apple from his bag, turning his view away from the other boy.

"I should've known," he muttered. "Idiot."

"You're still listening to my story!" Matthias ordered.

"Story?" The pair looked up as Tino joined them at the table, interest piqued at the word.

"Yeah!" The Dane turned to him with a grin. "My awesome story about last night, but you have to wait until everyone's here." The Fin chuckled, slightly awkwardly.

"Is this really a story I want to hear?" he asked, mostly directing the question to Alex. All he was offered was an unhelpful shrug in return.

"Of course it is! You and Icey and Berwald will all be in awe." Tino smiled politely, taking his seat.

"I'll look forward to it," he assured, beginning his lunch. Alex blatantly ignored the pair as they waited for the other two to show up. Matthias inhaled his food quickly, probably so he wouldn't have to interrupt his story because of hunger, but was then left with nothing to do while waiting for Berwald and Hrafn to appear. The two were taking a while, much to Alex's cruel amusement, as the Dane tapped him feet and drummed his fingers impatiently.

Finally, after 20 minutes and Matthias nearly dozing off the duo arrived calmly. As soon as he realised they were there, Matthias slammed his hands onto the lunch table, disturbing the others around him. "Finally! Where have you guys been?" he asked in exasperation. Glancing between them for a moment he added "Were you being a home-wrecker Ice? The Swede's kinda taken."

Hrafn gave an irritated look, clearly reconsidering his decision to sit with them again. "I was with Kaoru and Sesel, and Berwald was in class still. We met on the way here." He explained, slouching in his seat. "You're going to get beaten up for assumptions like that one day." That last sentences struck a chord with Matthias and he remembered why a moment later.

"Right! Speaking of people getting beaten up, I have an awesome story to tell you guys, now that everyone's finally here." He picked Alex's book out from under the table where he'd been holding it. "Stop reading and listen for a minute." Alex snatched it back but did close it silently. "So, this is about what I did last night."

"Do I w'nt ta h'r th's?" Berwald spoke for the first time, tone almost mimicking Tino's earlier question.

"Of course, now shut up! Anyway, so after I left Nor's place-" ("After we kicked you out more like...") "-I was walking home, going through some bad neighbour hoods, but that didn't bother me, when I spot these guys down the street. They were really shady looking, but not like badass, just kinda dumb. So I ignored them, tried walking on past..." Tino interrupted with a groan.

"Dan, you're meant to avoid those kinds of people," he reminded.

"Hey, I wasn't looking for a fight. I was just walking along, minding my own business when one of 'em decides to throw a bottle at my head. It misses of course, 'cause the guy was a sucky thrower. But still, it smashes all over the road and so they've got my attention now. Next thing I know, one of 'em's walking over, talking shit to me about how it's their turf and I should stay out and stuff. And I've run into this guy before, total poser, so I'm not scared of him. I push him away, tell him to eff off and keep walking. Suddenly he's got all these lackeys of his around me, pushing me around an-"

"Let me guess" Alex interrupted this time. "There were over 20 of them and they all had baseball bats." Hrafn snorted, predicting the same kind of thing for this story.

"Psh, no, there was only like, five with just fists. This guy ain't cool enough to have that many," he said, brushing it off. "Anyway, so now I know I gotta defend myself. I start pushing 'em away again, nothing big, but they're all brandishing fists so I make the first punch before one hits me. Sent one of 'em reeling backwards. After that they were all over me. I defended myself pretty good, but it's six against one, so with my awesome tactics-"

"You pulled out an AK47?" Hrafn asked sarcastically.

"No way, too much attention for this kinda thing. I grabbed some of the garbage can lids from the alley and do a full knockout sweep!" He stood at the table and waved his arms with enthusiasm. "And while they've all got headaches and concussions or whatever I make a final bang with the lids, crashing them together like cymbals!" He clapped his hands straight out in front of himself, adding the cymbal noises himself. "Then you hear the neighbours in the buildings around us start talking, so I make a run for it straight home." He sat down, looking satisfied with his tale. "They all bolted too of course; ya gotta know when to run with fights like those. And that's how I got this bruise and others," he concluded, pushing his hair back to display his battle wound.

The table was all quiet for a few moments, everyone waiting for someone to speak up, so Berwald takes the chance. "I'm n't s're where tha tr'th 'nds 'nd tha f'br'c'tion beg'ns in th't st'ry." The others nodded, even Tino who usually didn't get into unnecessary controversy.

"There was no fabrication in there!" Matthias protested. "You think I can remember what happened twelve hours ago?"

"W'll ya d'd get h't in tha h'd."

"And I don't feel any sympathy for you if you're going to get involved in those sorts of brawls." Alex butted in. "It's just stupid and unneeded."

"Nooor, it wasn't my fault." Matthias whined, wanting one person to be on his side.

"_You_ could've gone home earlier, _you_ could've taken a safer route, and _you _could've not made a habit out of this." He replied, pointedly. "How many times per week do you participate in these fights?"

"It's not that often," he mumbled, folding his arms. "Come on, be happy I won?"

"I hardly count it as winning. I will not be happy for you either, and nor will I care if you get hurt again." Matthias frowned as his boyfriend turned his back to him. Across the table, Hrafn was now ignoring him as well and Berwald had started a different conversation with his 'wife'. He frowned, resting his head on his arms. It was just one of those days when the world just hated him.

* * *

Most students had already disappeared by the time Alex made it out of the school building, which made it even more surprising that Matthias was still waiting outside. His body language when he saw the shorter blonde made it obvious he'd been the one he was waiting for as he turned all attention to him immediately.

"What're you doing here?" Alex asked before the Dane began rambling too much for him to get a word in. "You have a job to get to, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to say goodbye to you first." He grinned, standing beside his boyfriend. Alex frowned; they'd see each other on Monday, if not in the weekend. Matthias was just dumb sometimes.

"Fine. Bye." He turned and continued walking but he was held back.

"Goodbye kiss?" Alex frowned more, remembering that morning and sensing a pattern that he wasn't too happy about continuing. "There's less people around this time. Come on, I waited for this." The Norwegian sighed and turned back to him. Seizing the opportunity Matthias pressed their lips together quickly. Alex relaxed into it, letting himself enjoy the embrace. The kiss was gentle and drawn out, the other making it clear he didn't want to pull away any time soon. But eventually he did, pulling back at the same pace. Alex wouldn't admit he could feel how flushed his face was, so he just turned away again.

"Stop being so clingy when I'm annoyed with you," he muttered, walking off. "Bye then."

"Ok, seeya around I guess." They walked off in separate directions, as they occasionally did. Alex was looking forward to a good evening alone, and Matthias... wasn't too sure what he had planned.

* * *

A figure stumbled along the street, obviously finding walking a challenge. He had one hand out in front and around him as a guides and support, the other held against his head tenderly. His fingers were tangled in the blonde spikes and dappled with spots of deep red. He stopped momentarily, clutching his stomach as he attempted to stop the street signs spinning long enough to read them.

"_I'm not going to care if you get hurt again."_

He took a deep breath, following the direction of a correct looking sign. He kept his blue eyes trained on finding the house he was looking for.

"Damn, I hope you weren't serious Alex."

* * *

**A/N: Your reviews are all such guilt trips when it comes to me not writing! Keep them up!**


	4. Chapter 3: Slowly he opens the door

'_Will you listen to my story?_

_It'll just be a minute._

_How can I explain?...'_

* * *

Alex had his feet propped up on a small stool, coffee in hand, as he idly watched the television. The show was rather uninteresting, not aided by the extremely low volume (his brother had already gone to bed and rather needed the sleep at the moment) but he couldn't think of anything else to do at that time of night. Well, sleeping like his brother was currently was an option but the one too many cups of coffee he had drunk in the last hour probably wouldn't let that happen. He sighed, clicking the television off and sinking further into his chair. Silence was good, but when you couldn't sleep, read or be entertained properly it got rather dull.

_Knock knock knock!_

Alex looked immediately up at the door. Someone was knocking at his front door at this hour? He hadn't seen or heard a car pull up, so they must've come on foot. Suspiciously he got to his feet, placing his coffee on an end table. He went over to the door and firstly looked through the peep hole. There was a head of blonde hair at the top of a tall body. Alex groaned in annoyance, unlocking the door. What did that idiot Dane want now?

After pulling the door open he only had the chance to glare for a moment before his face changed (just slightly). Matthias was leaning against the doorframe with a bag slung over his shoulder, one hand holding the back of his head tightly while the other hung loosely at his side. He raised his limp hand slightly in a poor attempt at a wave.

"Hey Alex, sorry… it's late." The Norwegian nearly slammed the door closed on him again, but as Matthias lowered his hand slightly red was visible in his blonde strands. "I know you said… you don't care, but I… I need your help Nor." His voice sounded pathetic, nearly cracking as he stuttered. Alex looked over him again and sighed, taking his hand and tugging him inside.

"Come on then." Matthias stumbled inside after him, his other hand still clutched to his head. "I'll clean you up; follow." There was no use fighting it. Even he wouldn't have the heart to still throw his boyfriend out while he was in this state, and he supposed that helping him would be the 'proper' thing to do (and that aching concern he was feeling wasn't helping either). He closed the door and took the bag from his friend's back, discarding it on the floor before he led him into the downstairs bathroom (stairs would cause trouble; he doubted his current ability with walking as it was.) He bent the other's head over the sink, noticing that his hands immediately went out to brace himself on the counter, and also that his left pulled back quickly. He ignored this and grabbed a cup of water, not caring to check how hot or cold it was, and he started rinsing the blood out of the golden hair. He combed his fingers gently through the spikes, grumbling at the knots, and felt something gritty running over his fingers as well.

"Dan, what's this stuff in your hair?" he asked, watching the shiny shards running into the sink.

"Glass; mirror actually," Matthias said blankly before starting to cough. Alex had to put down the cup for a moment to stop his head moving.

"Stop jerking around, you'll hit the tap idiot." He managed to keep his head still while he finished coughing. "Why do you have bits of mirror in your head anyway?" he mumbled. He didn't get a reply beside a short shiver, so the next few minutes were silent. When he felt he had washed the Dane's head enough he grabbed a dark towel and pressed it to the bleeding area. "Hold that there while I get the first aid stuff out."

"Can we go sit in the lounge now?" Alex glanced up at him.

"You're obviously more injured than just that, idiot."

"I know, but… please? Can you do that in the lounge?" Matthias had stood up again, still keeping pressure on his head. Somehow he looked worse with the change of lighting; the bags under his eyes were more defined (at least one of them was probably starting to bruise); he could now see blood on his lip and he was shaking on his feet. Alex finally nodded.

"Fine, just go and sit on the couch and wait for me." He slightly nodded, staggering out of the door. The blonde sighed again, going through the drawers for whatever he might need. He was rather annoyed at Matthias for showing up so late and expecting help. He had already told him he wanted nothing to do with his street fights and the same day he chooses to show up on his doorstep. No matter how much he cared for him, if he made helping him get better for more fights a habit he'd never get the message. Pushing the drawer shut a bit harshly, he gathered the supplies and walked back into the other room.

The injured man was sat hunched over on the couch, still cradling his head in his hands. "Lift your chin," Alex instructed as he reached him, kneeling down. "I need to clean your face, stupid." Matthias didn't reply but looked up at him, lowering his hands into his lap. Alex paused for a moment seeing that dirty and vulnerable face looking at him again, but forced his annoyance back; just because he looked pitiful didn't mean this was any less angering. He was considerate enough to press softly with the cloth though, thinking he'd leave the malice for when the Dane was healed enough to receive it.

"Nor?" Matthias finally spoke just as he had finished cleaning the specks of blood off his face. "Can I tell you something?" Alex put down the cloth and glared at him.

"If this is something that's supposed to make me feel sorry for you getting into these stupid fights then I don't want to hear it Matthias." The other blonde shook his sore head.

"It's not… please Alex. This is important," he pleaded. Alex continued glaring, but it softened at the serious and (dare he say) scared face. _Damn him for having round, blue eyes!_ He dropped the glare in favour of his neutral expression.

"Fine; what is it then?" he asked impatiently. He watched as Matthias opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. He kept watching as the other shuffled his feet anxiously. "Well?"

"These injuries, they weren't from a street fight!" He quickly blurted out the words, before then going back to shuffling. "None of them have been," he mumbled the last bit to the carpet, but Alex still caught it.

"So you lied?" He sighed and raised an eyebrow at him. "Then what have they been from Matthias?"

They lapsed into silence again, but Alex didn't care to be the first to interrupt it this time. Matthias was taking deep breaths and after half a minute, possibly more, he replied "It was my father," hunching over further as if to swallow himself.

Alex stared at him, mouth slipping open to agape in a manner not suiting him, but it seemed neither of the two was using their usual mannerisms tonight. The first thought in his head was that it was a lie, but the statement felt too honest, like it had been something pressing on his mind for years before it finally escaped his mouth. Matthias turned his head to the side with downcast eyes. "Didn't you wonder," he half-croaked out, "why I would be wandering around with a bag full of belongings?" He stopped to rub at his face, Alex remaining silent for him to continue. "I-I didn't plan on coming here, b-but… I had to get out of there Nor."

Forcing himself to move finally, Alex shifted and pulled himself up onto the couch to sit tensely beside his friend. "Tell me what happened." It was still said like a demand, but he forced a calmer, softer tone onto it. The Dane's eyes flickered up to his but quickly returned to the floor.

"R-recently I decided I was gonna run away from him; t-tonight, when he wasn't meant to be home." Matthias gripped at his hair, trying not to stammer or stutter. "But he was s-so I waited until he was passed out or asleep or whatever, then I started packing. I'd gotten most of my things together, b-but I still had to get the things from the bathroom. I dunno when he woke up and I guess I d-didn't notice him until he grabbed me." He stopped again, pressing the towel forcefully against the back of his head.

"And he did this to you?" Alex questioned him, but knew the answer before he saw the curt nod.

"Yeah… 'got me by the neck and smashed my head against the mirror. He threw me against the bath and hit me a lot… I dunno, I don't remember anything exact after the side of the bath winded me." The younger boy noted how he was holding an arm over his stomach, mentally noting to check that out later. "He was really, really pissed tonight."

"When did all this happen?"

"Well like I said, _this_ happened earlier tonight." Matthias referred to his head, stating it like a joke without a trace of humour.

"Yes, but when did this start?" Alex didn't see the other biting his lip before answering.

"About… nine, maybe ten years ago," he said.

"H-hvar?" 10 years meant most of his life and nearly all of the life he could remember. "Then… why only now?" Subconsciously the taller blonde grazed his fingers over his left upper arm. _"He h'd b'nd'ges, r'nd one of 'em, th' s're one. D'dn't look l'ke a p'll'd m'scle."_ "What really happened there?" he asked, pointing at the injured arm. Matthias quickly dropped his hand back into his lap.

"…'Bout a week ago, I found him really drunk in the kitchen; L-like, worse than I've seen him in years. He was staggering everywhere and managed to knock a plate onto the floor. He was convinced it had been me and got angry. H-he actually picked up a knife and g-grabbed me. He ended up getting my arm." The Danish teen gave a bark of wavering laughter as he shook. "I-I don't even know i-if he would'nt've d-done it if he had been sober, or if he'd have just aimed better. It scares the shit outta me Nor."

Alex just stared at him and awkwardly placed a hand on his back, hoping it was comforting. His eyes travelled back to the first aid items, prompting him to reach forward and pick a few up to return to the things he knew how to fix. "Matthias, can you lean back a bit. Let me see your stomach." The boy nodded and leaned back on the sofa, head falling over the top of the seat so it was tilted to the ceiling. The Norwegian grimaced as he lifted his shirt to see the apparent mark across his stomach that had begun turning an unhealthy purple colour. Opening up a container of some cream he began cautiously dabbing it around the bruised area, lightly as not to hurt him anymore.

'_How did he not notice this?'_ was the main question surfacing as his mind ran 100 miles an hour. His friend had never looked anything less than cheerful whenever he had seen him. He was the one in their group who would always be immature and complain only about the stupidest things. Even after all of that brutal honesty and genuine fear shown just now Alex was waiting for the punch line; a cheesy finish or corny pun to wrap this up in a manner befitting to his usual farce. Or maybe it wasn't that Matthias hadn't shown it; maybe Alex just hadn't looked?..

He heard a hiss as he dabbed a little too hard on the bruised skin. He quickly withdrew his hand and silently replaced the lid of the container, wiping his fingers on his pants.

"You should lie down," he stated, standing up again in front of his friend. Dan made no motion to move so Alex tried gently grabbed him by the shoulders and guiding him to lying down on his right side. He stood back up and headed out of the room to find bedding and when he returned found Matthias in the same position he had been left in. Without any noise from either of them, Alex put some blankets over him and tried to navigate a pillow under his head. Luckily the man grabbed the item, holding it tight in his grip like a child. His stare was dead now, not straying away from directly in front of him. Alex looked over him for a few more moments, touching trailing along the top of the blankets before turning around.

"Try to sleep well, alright?" he told the couch. He received the lack of reply he expected, so flicked the lights off and went upstairs to his own room.

* * *

'_And the years go by so fast_

_Wonder how he ever made it through...'_

* * *

**A/N: Hopefully a good chapter for you guys? I first wrote it a while ago, so it's been read and reread a million times over by now. XD**

**Song at the start is "Sorry" by Daughtry and the song at the end (plus chapter title) is "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" by Savage Garden. I have quite a few songs that may get a mention throughout this, but if they pop up don't listen to the whole thing and make confusing theories. Sometimes it'll only be a few lines in a song that I relate to something.**

**Please R&R darlings~ We all know how lovely getting reviews is.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Firstly, thank you all for reviewing! I've been trying to reply to all of them (a habit I fell out of a while ago orz) before I put out the next chapter. Which is why you usually get replies then chapters immediately after one another. I'm slowly running out of prewritten chapters, so updates may get slower, sorry! But for anyone who doubts me saying I've planned this story out completely, have a peek at the massive amount of plot notes I've got: http: / / bit. ly / eG5ERJ This story's gonna be going for a while~**

* * *

As per usual, Alex was the first to wake up in the house the next morning. The sun was still rising when his eyes fluttered open, the light dying most of his room to an orangey blue. He spared a glance over at the clock next to his bed. 6:28 am, Sat; the weekend finally. He rolled over to face away from the light and bunched the sheets in his hands up in front of his face. He sniffed slightly, the smell causing him to open his eyes again in confusion. That was odd, his hands smelt like a doctor's office.

His eyes suddenly flicked open in recognition. Last night, Matthias had showed up, broken and injured, and more importantly he would still be down stairs on the couch. Almost reluctantly he pulled himself upright and set his feet on the floor. No matter how inviting his bed looked, the boy downstairs was more important. Had it been any other situation he would've left Matthias to sleep on his own, not caring how his brother would react when he saw him, but last night he was so vulnerable so who knew what he'd be like this morning. The man was usually predictable, but his emotions were a whole different story.

After getting dressed, Alex treaded lightly down the hallway and stairs, peaking into Hrafn's room on the way past. The boy was luckily still asleep, wrapped up in who knew how many blankets. His sleeping habits amused Alex whenever he thought about them, but of course he wouldn't be able to tease Hrafn about for a few more hours maybe so he moved on quickly.

Walking directly into the lounge, Alex went and knelt beside Matthias. Even while the teen had been asleep for many hours, there were still rings underneath his eyes. Alex absently wondered if any, or probably more accurately would be how much, of that darkness was bruising. He kneeled down for a minute to lightly brush his finger tips over it; there was a slight flutter of his eye lashes, but he remained completely asleep. He pulled himself up and out of his thoughts, wandering back into the kitchen to retrieve his coffee.

He poured himself a large cup, barely bothering to add milk, but still tried to leave a bit for the others. Come to think of it, he wasn't even certain that Matthias liked coffee. Come to think of it, how much did he actually know about the one he called 'boyfriend'? He didn't want to think about him so much at that moment, but it seemed with every gulp of coffee his mind became clearer and it was easier to think. It was plain to see why Matthias was so clingy and wanted to spend most of his time attached to Alex by the hip. He wore long clothes a lot, joked around in class but always kept his school work just high enough to not get a call home, and on top of that was the apparently large portion of his life dedicated to "street fighting" despite how friendly he seemed otherwise. The list just went on now, and yet, nothing had clicked for any of them; not even one little suspicion… Alex ran his fingers through his hair and groaned, switching to sharply tugging it as he cursed himself for not thinking. Matthias had been his boyfriend for months, a friend for years, and he had never thought…

It was another good forty minutes until Hrafn appeared in the kitchen door, hair tousled more than regularly while his face showed mild confusion, and possibly annoyance, across his tired expression. "If I'm not mistaken," he drawled out, leaning on the doorframe. "There is a certain Danish boy passed out on our couch." Norway nodded, making his first agenda passing his brother the coffee jug. Hrafn moved forward, taking the jug with a look of appreciation. Alex watched as his brother imitated his actions by pouring a large cup of coffee for himself. There wasn't much left in the jug, but he had been planning on making a second anyway.

"Matthias needed a place to stay" he clarified finally. He saw Hrafn make a face at this; the boy never had been too impressed with the Dane's constant needs. "He legitimately did this time; it wasn't just a whim." The younger raised an eyebrow.

"And what was that? You usually jump at the chance to go on about his faults." It was Alex's turn to make a face, but he kept it in. It wasn't nice, but it wasn't lies either.

"He…" Alex hesitated. It wasn't exactly his story to tell, but Ice deserved a reason. "He was kicked out of his house. Father and he had a disagreement." It wasn't exactly the truth, but it was close enough for now. Hrafn just nodded, going back to his coffee and own thoughts. Luckily he wasn't too interested, so the older blonde could get away with few details right now. He watched as his brother's eyes wandered to the cupboard and figured this would probably be a decent time to escape. "I'm gonna go check on him." Alex stood up and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Ice to nod at the pantry.

The teen poked his head into the lounge again, watching the other boy's chest rise and fall from a distance. It looked like he was still asleep which he could hardly be blamed for, much to the annoyance of the Norwegian's normal instincts. He walked over to Matthias, once again unable to restrain himself from touching his face softly. He was running his fingers over the ragged mess of hair above his forehead when he noticed the two round blue, slightly red rimmed eyes staring up at him. He nearly jumped in surprise, but managed to repress it to a small flinch of his hand.

"You're awake." He stated quietly. Matthias made an almost grunted hum in response, obviously not able to find his voice yet this morning. "For how long?" he questioned as he brushed his hand across the wheat coloured hair again, prompting the Dane to close his eyes again and relax slightly.

"Not long," he mumbled after a pause, his voice rough and heavy with sleep. Gingerly he tried to stretch his limbs. The slight pain and discomfort showed on his face, particularly when he moved his left arm. He didn't attempt to go further and sit up after that. "Body's kinda stiff," he narrated as if it hadn't been obvious. He gave a gravelly chuckle as he looked up at Alex's face. "I'm kinda screwed too aren't I?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked. "You'll get better idiot." Matthias shook his head and shifted again, managing to prop himself up on his good arm.

"Yeah, but where? I mean," he looked off to the side a bit. "I don't really expect you'd take me in for so long, and if I don't have anywhere to go I'll have to go back to…" he trailed off. He was right though, Alex pondered. If he wasn't here, then where would he go? "I'm such an idiot; I had so long to think about this but I'm still lost," he berated himself. Alex sighed, taking a seat on the floor next to the couch, eyes now about level with the larger blonde's.

"I don't want to kick you out Dan." He admitted. Matthias nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Thanks, but I'd just be another mouth, and a large one at that." The smaller blonde gave him an odd look. This boy was being serious for once; he was thinking about things and trying to be considerate. Alex felt another small pang of guilt, thinking about how not a week or even a few days earlier he would've probably thought this behaviour as impossible for his boyfriend. "Besides, it's Ice's house too, and he doesn't even like me that much." He mumbled awkwardly. Alex thought maybe he had seen his brother before, when Hrafn had seen him. Matthias tried to move his arm again, probably in an attempt to inspect the back of his head but once again this proved troubling for him. Alex narrowed his eyes at the bandaged spot and stood back up, taking an authoritative position.

"You need to go to the hospital." He stated firmly, looking down at his friend from the new height. Matthias furrowed his brow and opened his mouth as if to protest, but Alex cut across him. "No objecting. You said last night you got your head smashed into a mirror and the rim of a bathtub into your stomach, and also this stab wound, these aren't just normal scrapes and bruises Dan." He almost felt bad seeing the Dane tense at the recount, but it needed to be said. "I'll drive you. Can you move?" Matthias shrugged lightly and began pushing himself up. His back and shoulders clicked a few times but he managed, keeping his left arm stable and stomach slightly curled up Alex noted. The hunched over boy looked up and nodded at him and Alex nodded back. "You can go wait by the car outside if you want."

The Norwegian watched the other boy walk away for a moment before hurrying into the kitchen again. His brother was sat in the same place at the table, slowly chewing a piece of dark brown toast. Alex didn't look him in the eyes, instead dancing around him to the table where he downed the last of the coffee and grabbed a set of keys. "I'm taking Dan out." He said simply. His brother nodded behind his back.

"I heard." He replied, sipping at his coffee. Alex made a face, wondering how much he _had_ heard. "Drive safely." The elder nodded back at him, quickly making his way out to the car. Matthias was leaning against the passenger door, still cradling his stomach and bad arm. He pushed himself upright as the doors clicked unlocked and collapsed into the front seat. Alex followed, slipping into the driver's seat and buckling up. Throughout the ride to the hospital, Alex couldn't stop his eyes flicking towards Matthias. The other blonde was silent, and it didn't suit him.

* * *

Hrafn listened as the car pulled out of the driveway and still sat listening for a while after it had disappeared completely. The burnt toast he usually enjoyed suddenly didn't taste appealing, so he chucked it outside for the birds before heading upstairs to his own. Mr Puffin was nestled in his cage soundly. He ruffled his feathers when he was picked up by his owner but the boy paid no mind.

'_Head smashed… stomach… stab wound…'_

He rubbed his head and sighed. He had heard enough, but he wasn't sure if he would count that as a good or bad thing.

'_It's Ice's house too…'_

The decision would probably be up to him, wouldn't it?

* * *

**A/N: Filler/linking chapter fills space and links things. –w- Plus srs!Denny. And talking. You like talking? Plenty more where that came from.**

**Next chapter will be... sometime. I dunno.**


	6. Chapter 5: Do as I say not as I do

The two of them arrived back at Alex's house at around 11 o'clock. Not much had changed there since they had left besides the kitchen being cleaned up and Hrafn no longer occupying it. Matthias however was now properly bandaged up with a few stitches in his arm and orders to rest until his concussion was healed. He had also gotten more used to walking again which was helpful with someone as big as he was. Even so, Alex stuck close to his side, or maybe it was the other way around, as they walked in. He guided him up the stairs that the Dane had walked up countless times before. He probably knew the house as well as either of the brothers. They got to the guest room door when Alex stopped and turned to his guest.

"You can lie down for a bit here. The bed's always made." Matthias nodded and muttered his thanks. "Just don't lie on your stitches even if your arm is numb. I'm going to make some lunch." He watched as his friend lurched a bit as he walked and walked off slowly, not speeding up again until he heard the soft thump of a body collapsing on the bed.

In the kitchen he pulled out a chopping board and searched the fridge for food. Sandwiches would have to do, he decided, gathering up bread and fillings. He only just noticed his brother's presence as he was cutting up some ham. Hrafn stood silently in the door for a moment before stepping forward to reclaim his seat at the table.

"You're home." Those were the first words out of his mouth. Alex nodded in reply, busying himself with the food. "I barely heard you come in." Once again Alex nodded. Harfn sighed lightly; he could see how tense his brother was and he knew exactly why. The topic was waiting to be brought up, the subject of which was upstairs presumably snoring quietly again. The younger boy decided that he may as well bring it up first. "What's happening with Matthias?" He knew he had asked the right question when the sound of the chopping board stopped short.

"...I don't know." Alex admitted quietly. He hated having to say those three words; he was the kind of person who wanted to know things confidently and hated uncertainty. Seeing that his brother had nothing more to say, Hrafn spoke up again.

"I heard you two this morning." No reply; no chopping sounds; he continued. "I know he does need help. And a place to stay." Alex sighed, slowing resuming his sandwich preparation.

"He does, and I don't know anything about that either." Hrafn raised an eyebrow, expecting him to at least bring the obvious idea up.

"You said you didn't want to kick him out."

"I don't."

"Then don't." Alex's movements stopped again, this time followed by him turning to face the other teen.

"Be serious Ice," he said flatly, looking down.

"I am," he persisted. "We have room, so you don't have to kick him out."

"We don't have the money-"

"Ask mum or dad for a bit more of an allowance. They won't mind, especially since mum has a soft spot for her 'growing young men.'" They stared at each other for a moment. "Look Alex, we don't know where else to send him, you don't want to kick him out, he practically lives here anyway; what's your issue?" The older blonde strummed his fingers across the counter top as he thought.

"So you're alright with it?" Hrafn rolled his eyes. _That_ had obviously been his brother's issue all along.

"Would I have spent that long arguing about it if I wasn't? And besides," he added. "I wouldn't be able to kick him out any easier than you could. He bothers me sometimes, but I don't hate him. If he behaves I won't say anything against it." Alex nodded, giving a small smile as he turned back to lunch.

"Are you sure you can handle that much Dane in your life Ice?" he asked with a much lighter tone. The boy gave a slight smile back.

"I think I'll manage."

* * *

Matthias was dozing on the bed when Alex returned. The sound of the door and footsteps pulled him back into consciousness along with the clinks of a plate being placed on the bedside table. He opened his eyes and tried pulling himself upright, but ended up settling for lying with his back higher up on the pillows. Alex passed a plate to his and pulled up a seat beside the bed. Matthias took it and sank back into the pillows, looking relaxed. Alex envied him, as he himself still felt tense about everything. It was a bit frustrating that despite being the main victim he could take it easily.

"So you've been faking it this whole time?" Alex couldn't hold back from asking softly. Matthias took a bite from his sandwich before choosing to answer.

"Faking what?" he grunted back through bread and butter.

"This," Alex replied lamely, gesturing to all of him. "The whole 'happy-go-lucky Dane' thing you've always had." He placed a hand atop his own sandwich but didn't pick it up. "Does that person everyone knows at school even exist?" he questioned quietly. Matthias rolled his eyes and poked Alex's cheek.

"You're over thinking things Nor. I'm not that complicated." He paused to eat more, definitely acting in his public character at that moment. "Eat your food Norge or I'll finish mine and try go after it," he advised cheekily. "Anyway, I wasn't faking being happy at school. I love school!" He grinned at his doubting friend, showing off a piece of lettuce in his teeth. "The working bit kinda sucks, but being with friends and stuff is awesome. Still, being at your place is better."

"So saying that you only come to school for your social life wouldn't be far from the truth then?" Alex asked, finally beginning to nibble the edge of his own sandwich.

"Hey, I don't mind the learning bit that much," he replied in defence of himself. "I'm just not that good at it." Alex shrugged dismissively, letting the conversation drift into silence for a short while. Honestly, such casualness from the other teen bothered him greatly. There were such serious topics floating around and yet he was managing to brush it off like it was nothing to him. Then, he could also be lying with how good he was at was finishing off the last of his sandwich when Alex spoke again.

"So you're saying that aside from the street fighting thing you were telling the truth mostly?"

"Yeah." He stopped and thought about that statement for a moment. "There were some other little things, but mostly..."

"What are those?" Alex asked immediately. Matthias shifted, eyes wandering around the room.

"Um, why I don't like Fridays for one; my timetable does kinda suck, but mainly it was something else. School finishes for the week, and you know…" he trailed off absently. The other teen stared pointedly at him until he continued. "Friday means two days before I have to see any authoritative people, so two days for things to heal. He thinks he can get away with more on Fridays. And he can." Alex nodded at the twisted philosophy. Matthias quickly become concentrated on eating the crumbs from his fingers after that, so it was obvious he wouldn't say more. The Norwegian moved the plates to the side, stacking them on the bedside table, and folded his hands in a formal manner.

"Hrafn heard us talking this morning." Matthias continued to be engrossed by the state of his hands, giving only the slightest twitch in response. "We decided that you can stay here, even if just for a while."

"What?" Matthias shot up, staring at him. Alex nodded, waiting to be attacked by a bone crushing hug. Instead the boy frowned deeply, looking down. "You don't really want me here."

"We're not kicking you out," Alex repeated firmly.

"Yeah, but you really won't want me here. You'll get sick of me; I already eat all of your food." Alex frowned back at him.

"Food matters are fine," he insisted. "We'll buy for three instead of two now."

"That'll cost-"

"Our parents can afford to spend a bit more money through to us. They'll just think we're growing again."

"It's just-"

"You're staying here Matthias." Alex snapped, causing the Dane to flinch. Sighing, Alex moved closer to him on the bed. "What's wrong with staying here?" he questioned quietly. An obnoxious feeling of déjà vu was coming over him heavily now.

"I… I'd just hate to end up as just some nagging pest to you guys," he admitted. "I mean, I'm pretty useless with most things so I can't really pay you back." The words sounded uncommon from him, though they probably wouldn't have if said by the other. Alex stared at him oddly. This person in front of him was so worried and sincere, with an obviously hurt self esteem.

"You've never minded before," he pointed out.

"That was different. You could kick me out easily then…"

"I still could." He commented. "If you keep acting like you are then you'd probably leave the first time I tell you to." The Dane was silent, so Alex poked his cheek. "This is when you laugh and tell me I'd never do that," he goaded half-heartedly.

"Hm?" he looked up and took in the words. "Oh, right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Alex muttered, poking him again. He wondered again if Matthias had been lying when he said his school smile was real. He'd been with Alex all morning and was still acting lethargic. Alex didn't like it, even if it did mean quiet. "It's not burdening if we offer, idiot. And if it makes you feel better I can teach you how to wash dishes or something. I never intended to cut you out of chores." The pair stared at each other for a moment, Matthias doing the thinking for once. Slowly he smiled and grabbed the other blonde around the waist.

"Come 'ere." He grinned, pulling him close and nuzzling into his back and shoulders. Alex grumbled for show, but allowed it. The hug wasn't as strong as usual because of his injuries, so he deemed it not too bad. "You sure about this?" Matthias quietly questioned again.

"Of course not, I wasted five minutes of my life on a bad joke for you," he stated as dryly and sarcastically as possible. Luckily Matthias picked up on the humour and kept smiling.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he chanted into the fabric of his shirt. "I get to live with my wifey who makes me sandwiches in bed," he added cheekily.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Alex snorted indignantly, but still turned his head to kiss Matthias's, patting his golden hair rather affectionately.

"Ya know, this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." Alex hadn't known that, but with everything he'd learnt in the last 12 hours he didn't doubt it in the slightest.

* * *

**A/N: Ah! No more prewritten chapters. Have to write each chapter as they come again. A Oh well. Anyway, as always reviews are appreciated! (I got kinda bummed when I only got two for the last chapter, and one of them was forced. *Sorry Kales!***)


	7. Chapter 6

**I can't lie about where I've been; not because I'm too good for that, but because I have IRL friends reading this. So honestly, the last two weeks have been holidays. I fail. Orz Enjoy?**

* * *

The first Monday morning with Matthias proved just as difficult as Alex imagined. Being a morning person, Alex had gotten up easily. Even Hrafn had dragged himself into the kitchen within ten minutes of Alex shaking him awake (like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, except with none of the beautiful appearances.) After twenty, he accepted that Matthias wasn't conscious and went to bother him a further five minutes until he was really awake. He then left him to lather his bruised stomach with more cream with the threat of withholding breakfast should he fall back asleep. He kept the promise not to drift back into slumber, but it took a bit of prodding to get the three of them out of the door on time. (Thankfully, out of three teenage boys they had Alex as the mother hen organising them.)

They walked in a group on the pavement with Matthias and Alexander next to each other and Hrafn trailing a few feet behind them, cell phone out and texting already. Matthias was yawning, wriggling in an odd half-stretch as he attempting to keep his stomach and one arm stable at the same time.

"The plan is not to tell anyone of what's going on, isn't it?" Alex asked casually.

"Yeah," Matthias nodded. "Tino and Liz will just fuss over it, and for Berwald, it's just none of his damn business. Besides, it's fine now, right? If you'll keep me, my bruises will heal and everything will be perfect." He flashed a grin, pleased with that outlook.

"You'll still be hurt though." Alex argued. "You cannot come to me like you did on Friday then expect me to believe that you're completely alright two days later." Matthias made a face.

"Well, I have my moments, yeah. But really Nor, most of the time I'm fine. You're with me most of the time, aren't ya?" He slung an arm around the sullen Norwegian's shoulders, trying to lighten the mood. "Come on Nor," he lifted his chin up when it didn't work. "You're gonna worry yourself sick like this. That's probably the lamest way to get sick." Alex pushed him away, shrugging him off his shoulders.

"Fine, you're fine," he agreed. He didn't like hearing that he worried too much. Hrafn used to tell him that on a daily basis back when they started attending this high school together until Alex 'calmed down.' The Norwegian maintained that since he was the older brother and had lived in America longer than him, he was meant to look after his brother. Hrafn told him it was just because since their parents separated Alex felt cheated out of fussing over him constantly for eight years, and said so while smirking. That same smirk was currently being bared again barely a metre behind them; Alex could tell.

Getting nearer to the school, they began seeing more students walking in the streets. Up in front of them they spotted a familiar face.

"Hey, Liza!" Matthias grinned and waved the Hungarian girl down.

"Oh, you two walking to school together?" she teased with a lecherous tone. "Did I miss a juicy night or what?"

"You bet," he replied, holding Alex by the hip. "Every night's juicy with us."

"You must invite me next time then, Matthias. Don't want to miss out on too many opportunities." She giggled, walking with them now.

"Save it for your own boyfriend Elizaveta," Alex cut it, moving Matthias' hand up to his waist so it wouldn't be tempted to wander lower.

"The more the merrier," she countered with a smile. He flashed an irritated look, and picked up his pace towards the school, leaving Dan and his hand behind. He knew the action hadn't gone unnoticed, but Matthias was happy enough to stay back and talk to Elizaveta rather than continue to bother him. He wasn't entirely certain whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Nevertheless, when the two of them had to split up properly, the Dane still stole his "goodbye kiss" on the lips, just like normal.

* * *

Berwald surprised Alex by waiting outside his classroom after first period. The Swede stood more like a watchdog than anything, usual glower etched onto his face. Unsurprisingly, Alex was the first one to approach him properly.

"Hei," he greeted with a nod, stepping to stand close to the wall, allowing others to pass (a token gesture really, as people walked around the taller boy instinctively.) Berwald looked up to greet him.

"D'dja t'lk to 'im?" Alex stared back, slightly confused, but clicked onto what he meant quickly. "M'tthias," he prompted anyway.

"Yes I did." He stated surely. He shuffled his books in his arms; he'd have to wait here for Matthias to show up anyway, since he always whined if he didn't.

"'Nd?" he prompted further.

"We sorted the matter out. It won't happen again." His answered was guarded, hopefully not too evident, but he made the unspoken "and it doesn't concern you further than that" obvious. Whether or not Berwald was pleased with this reply was left unsaid as he simply nodded silently. The pair found themselves too formal and slightly stilted to be close friends in a pair, often relying on a third party to provide the conversation. Not that they didn't enjoy simply being as a pair occasionally.

"Hej!" Matthias entered the silenced conversation loudly and proudly. "You better not be hitting on my boyfriend, Swede."

"W'sn't," he replied firmly. "Wh'tev'r, I'm g'in'. Seeya Al'x." He walked off with a wave of his hand, coming close to shoving Dan on his way past. Dan responded by poking out his tongue childishly.

"What did he want?" he asked as soon as he was gone.

"Doesn't matter. You're making me late," Alex replied curtly, already on his way to their next class.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" he protested, catching up quickly. "You can't blame me for everything, can ya?"

"Most things I can."

"But you wouldn't, right?" Alex stopped in his tracks for a minute, staring at him. Matthias stopped too, naturally, and stared back. "...Nor?" Alex stared at him, almost glaring in concentration. Something bothered him, but he wasn't sure why and he wasn't sure what; something just now... "Alex, you're making weird faces. Isn't that making us later than I am?" Alex snapped out of his thought and shook his head.

"No, it's still your fault. Hurry up," he chided, picking his quick-snap pace up again. To all of his questions, Alex denied it was anything, but still he spent the next English lesson staring and thinking. In the end, he tried to brush it off; if he couldn't get it, it was probably nothing.

* * *

The afternoon had been tiring for Alex to say the least. Since they had decided Matthias was staying, they felt obliged to provide him with necessities like towels and sheets and other basic bedroom items. It wasn't that they didn't have spares on hand, but they had to remember what was needed then sort them out and fetch them from their scattered hiding places. Alex sincerely hoped this would be the last time he'd have to knock on Matthias's bedroom door with a random object in his hand.

"Come in," came the invite from inside, so Alex did just that. Matthias was standing topless by the drawers of his room, ruffling through his clothes hopefully to find a shirt.

"Usually saying 'come in' implies that you're decent," Alex remarked with a flushed face, manoeuvring around him to set up the small alarm clock on the bedside shelf.

"What, you don't find _this_ a little more than just decent?" Matthias asked playfully, striking a pose to show off his chest. Alex gave him a one over, and only a one over his pride will tell you, before looking back to his task.

"Well the bandages are slightly off putting," he commented. Matthias grinned, returning to the search of his drawers.

"I'll be sure to show it off more in the future then," he replied heartily. Alex took a seat on the bed to set the time on the clock. For the shortest of moments he flickered his eyes back up to look at the other boy, then again, for a bit longer, until he simply pulled his eyes up to inspect what caught his attention. Little marks, peppered over the Dane's back and shoulders, were more easily seen now that he was facing the other way and flexing to pull a t-shirt over his head. Most were small and fading, but still they were visible. Those marks shouldn't have existed.

Setting the alarm clock down on the table again, Alex moved across the room to help him pull the shirt down over his bandaged arm, receiving a grateful smile in return. "Dan," he spoke up as he let the limb drop out of his fingers. "Can you do something for me?" The boy looked confused but nodded.

"Sure, what?" Alex made a point to look directly up at him when he spoke, words firm.

"I need you to promise to stop lying to me." Matthias made a strange face, and Alex pressed on before he spoke up. "We don't mind you staying here, but it won't work if I have to spend every minute of every day wondering if you're really telling the truth or not."

"What, you don't trust me?" he asked, keeping the question jovial to no effect on the other party.

"Not about this and that's your own fault."

"There ya go with blaming me again; you need a better hobby." He grinned, a final try at lightening the mood, but Alex's expression was like stone. With a short sigh, he patted the shorter blonde's head. "Fine fine, I promise I won't lie to you anymore, really. I'll try my best to tell you the truth and all that. You trust me?" He looked down with wide eyes, hoping for his desired answer.

"Yes," Alex finally replied. "Just make sure you keep that promise." A wide smile stretched across Matthias's face again.

"How could I have said no when you're being so honest for once?"

"I'm always honest." He countered indignantly.

"Not usually."

"We're talking about _your _honesty issues here," Alex frowned, poking the Dane's forehead sharply. Dodging around him after that distraction, he headed for the door, adding one last note. "Dan, alarm clock. Use it or you get the ice water again."

"Aye aye, Cap'n Christianson," he chirped, saluting. Alex ignored it, well practised in doing so to odd things, and Matthias would always be full of odd things.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter done and I'm not entirely pleased with it, personally. _ But I'm not going to point out why because I don't want you to know. XD Reviews appreciated~**


	8. Chapter 7: A walk in the park

**A/N: Huge apologies for the lack of updates! I haven't forgotten this story (in fact it's always in my head), just forgotten to write it. So you know, it has been exactly 3 months since I last updated. During those months I was off fighting dragons in Norway, which made it rather hard to write or publish anything. Also I was given permission to tell that blatant lie.**

**It's late and a combination of written-now and written-months-ago writing, so forgive any errors please! (Perhaps I should find a beta; never had one before).**

* * *

It was surprisingly easy for Matthias to slip into the brothers' routine. Actually, it wasn't surprising when they thought about it (the Dane had made himself a major part of their schedule from day one), but all parties involved were happy about the convenience of the situation. On Tuesdays, Alex would meet Matthias outside of his maths class before meeting Hrafn outside the school gates and walking home (rarely they drove). Wednesdays would often have the brothers walking home alone if Matthias stayed after school with his "meat-headed" other friends in the gym (which Alex refused to hang around in precisely because of the company).Thursdays were easy as last period was English for both of the couple and Hrafn's class was just across the hall. Finally, Fridays saw Alex and Hrafn's final classes relatively close to one another and Matthias leaving to work without them.

It still mildly surprised Alex, though not in a bad way. It seemed to work out perfectly, and that Matthias living with them would remain as the minor inconvenience his presence always had been.

"Oi, Dan." Gilbert sharply jabbed his friend in the side with the pointed end of his pencil. "Stop ignoring the awesome me!"

"Ow," he flinched, whacking the writing instrument to the floor. "What d'ya want, dick?"

"No one's allowed to doze off in my presence; that's gotta be a sin or something." Matthias snorted, resisting the urge to shove the 'Prussian' off his chair as he leaned down to retrieve the pencil. "You thinking about some sexy Norwegian ass or something?"

"Maybe, but I thought _you_ were straight."

"Of course _I_ am, but any hole's a goal for you right?" He would've grinned if he hadn't been now trying to balance the pencil on his face.

"You've got your priorities all wrong dude," Matthias replied, shaking his head as he flicked the pencil away again.

"You both have your priorities wrong," a posh voice butted in. "Some of us are actually trying to take in and understand glaciations and such."

"Don't be such a tight ass Arthur," Gilbert sneered. "You used to be cool."

"Yeah, and who wants to learn about that anyway. This isn't science, it's just... rocks. And dirt." Matthias complained dismally. Arthur glared at the pair he had been seated with.

"Geology is an important part of science, not that you plonkers would know or care," he commented. The two shrugged noncommittally.

"Anyway, back to the topic at hand, you have screwed up priorities Gil," Matthias repeated, recovering his previous train of thought.

"What does that even mean?"

"Maybe I should say it in a way that big brows here will understand if he wants to get involved." The Dane cleared his throat, putting on a fancy voice. "There are a multitude more things on this earth to experience in the span of our being than bosoms and gluteus maximus."

"And in English?"

"There's more to life than T&A." Gilbert snickered

"_I_ have messed up priorities? You're such a girl Dan, geez. Should I just start calling you _Daniella_ now?"

"Hey, that's the reason I have a boyfriend and you're gonna be alone forever," Matthias shot back, grinning smugly.

"I could have a girlfriend if I wanted to," Gil shot back defensively. "Liz was all over me back when we were together. Shame she had to be such a total bitch, but now I can get any ass I want." The Dane gave a short bark of laughter.

"You were _never_ getting any with Liz," he stated clearly.

"How would you know?"

"Easy; your voice is still low, which means you still have your balls, which means you never tried anything that would provoke Liz into chopping them off."

"Charming," Arthur commented dryly from the sidelines.

"Whatever dick, doesn't mean I'm not getting any at all." The German reclined in his chair, stretching out his arms in a way that pulled his white collar shirt up his pale stomach. "Oh yeah, you wish I was gay so you could have me."

"You wish I was single so you could too," Matthias countered, before whipping out a fake camera in the form of his science calculator. "But while you're posing I might as well enjoy it." Gilbert grinned wider, popping open a button or two to reveal more.

"Aw yeah, damn hotter than you'll ever get," he boasted, stretching his legs over the desk as a footrest.

"Nah, I'm way hotter,"

"Nah uh."

"Yah huh."

"I'll prove it!" Gilbert jumped up from his chair, dashing to the front of the class. Arthur was muttering something probably rude under his breath (the things the boy usually said in their company were usually either profound or profane) that Matthias ignored, watching his friend rummage through trays of delicate scientific equipment without a care. When he returned a long thermometer was rolled across the desk to him.

"What's this?" Matthias asked, fiddling with the instrument.

"A thermometer, duh. For testing how hot something is." The Dane's face lit up in realisation.

"Right!" He picked the object up, twirling it. "We measuring from mouth or heads or what?"

"You know that most animals have their temperature taken from the other end don't you?" Arthur chipped in, making the implications of his statement obvious. The other two boys paused for a moment.

"You're sick mate," Gilbert blurted blankly ("Like you're one to talk Beilschmidt.") "Just grab it in your wanking hand or something." Arthur was finally gifted with a small window of silence as the two sat in their chair, staring intensely at their thermometers with fists clenched. It was at least a minute before one broke the silence.

"Mine's higher!" Denmark proudly declared, checking it against his rival's.

"What? Like hell it is!" The German sat, scrutinizing the readings. "They're the same dammit."

"Nope, mine's half a degree higher. Seeeeee?" he asked obnoxiously, waving the stick in Gilbert's face.

"Hey, it's the other blondie," Matthias looked up immediately, distracted, giving Gilbert the opportunity to rob him of his half-a-degree-hotter thermometer and therefore proof. Alex was indeed leaning on the frame of the door, presumably waiting for Matthias to leave. There was still probably another minute or two of class left but the Dane promptly disregarded that fact and swept his books into his schoolbag. By the time he was done Alex was already walking off.

"What, you're ditching weights?" Gilbert asked, a slight whine in his voice.

"Homework," he replied unenthusiastically. "And I can't be stuffed, not with my screwed up arm anyway." Gilbert "hmph"d at him, folding his arms like a toddler.

"Loser, at least stick around to entertain the awesome me!"

"Nup! Gotta go or he'll drive off without me. Seeya!" Gilbert cracked up laughing as the Dane scrambled to collect his books and bag and raced after Alex.

"You are so _whipped_ dude!" Matthias flashed him his middle finger as he dashed out of the door, leaving Arthur to deal with the German before he too could make his own escape. Matthias caught up with his boyfriend with large steps, slipping their hands together at the first opportunity. Alex flushed and frowned deeper but didn't pull away. At least for a minute or so.

* * *

"Dan!" The blonde looked up from the couch to the kitchen door, where the voice had come from.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"Come here." Groaning, the Dane rolled himself off the couch and strolled into the kitchen.

"Yeah?" he repeated upon entering. Alex had his school sleeves rolled up to the elbows, his forearms immersed in a sink-full of warm, soapy water. He pulled them out and dabbed them dry with a tea towel before throwing the cloth at Matthias to catch.

"Dishes, like I promised. You dry today." He turned back to his own task, efficiently scrubbing down a large pot from their dinner. Matthias caught on quickly, assuming his spot next to his boyfriend and picking up a handful of cutlery. "Make sure you dry them properly; I don't want to see any suds left."

"I know how to dry dishes Alex. I took Home Ec for over two years."

"Do you know how to cook?"

"Where you even listening to me?" Matthias whined. "I took Home Ec, _and_ I never got sick because of it."

"But you did." Alex distinctly remembered the days his friend would come to school after a sick day, blaming his own food. Matthias obviously didn't.

"I did not. You lie Nordmand." Alex shot him an unseen glance. _'If I was lying just now, then what about you last year?'_ Alex ignored the question and handed the Dane another dish.

"Then you can join the cooking schedule; at least two nights a week." Matthias groaned.

"Hn, fine," he agreed without much real complaint. "But you have to buy pastry ingredients. Baking's so much more fun than cooking. You'll love my food, I'm an awesome chef. Much better than Icey," he added in a (not so quiet) whisper, grinning cheekily. Alex nodded tamely, noticing the ever growing pile of plates on the dish rack.

"Dry faster."

"Yes Cap'n!"

"Stop that."

* * *

Barely an hour later, Alex stared at the other teen who was half curled up on the couch and completely silent. His eyes were easing shut slowly as the minutes went by, the rest of his face relaxing along with it. It was a calming sight, Alex supposed, to see someone so loud and over-excited (_and hurt_ something whispered) drifting off so peacefully. It was a shame to have to break it.

"Dan, you can't sleep on the couch." The boy made a small noise of acknowledgement but made no effort to move. "Fall asleep and you shall be rudely awakened," Alex warned finally, switching back to filling in that day's newspaper crossword. Across on the other seat Hrafn was bundled up in a blanket, looking quite disgruntled.

"I wish we had a fireplace." Alex didn't need to look up to know the bitter expression of nostalgia that went with that statement.

"You've said so before; many times actually." Hrafn frowned, pulling the blankets closer. Alex would truthfully rather like a fireplace as well, even with the work required to maintain it; he remembered visiting Iceland on occasion to see his mother and brother and how they'd sit around it on the cold nights. His father's house didn't have one, and neither did this rental they lived in to attend their school (though one shouldn't expect that much from a place like this; they had been lucky to get one more bedroom than necessary for the two of them moving in) so Alex didn't feel the extreme desire to have one like his brother did. He had various other "security blankets" to hold on to.

"Because it's still valid," he mumbled. "I wouldn't care about cleaning it or chopping the wood or anything,"

"You're making it sound like a pet, which are not allowed in these rental properties," Alex teased lightly. Hrafn snorted indignantly.

"You got one," he mock-sulked, looking pointedly at the third teen in the room. Alex exhaled in a ghost of a chuckle before turning his attention back to his boyfriend.

"Dan, go to bed," he ordered, reaching out to prod the man awake. "You won't be getting any awards for the strange places you manage to sleep soundly in." Matthias groaned, rolling over and curling up tighter until he gave in to Alex and stood to leave, waving his hand at the other two in farewell. "You can too Ice, so you can dream about the fireplace that once was." Hrafn smiled wryly, rising from his seat to also hobble to his bedroom.

"Ok, mother dearest," he murmured beneath his breath as he went. Alex picked up on it, but ignored it in favour of his interrupted crossword.

It seemed to work out perfectly.

* * *

**A/N: Again not so pleased with this atm as the majority of this chapter is dialogue/bickering that I wrote 3 months ago and I've just been reading some amazing stories that blow mine away. Orz Hopefully I can be pushed to work on this regularly now. Apologies again!**


	9. Chapter 8: All the Hardest Questions

**A/N: This is the ninth chapter. Why do I still fail at knowing the format of a chapter? How do chapters even work? I need a place to rant everything I'm unhappy with rather than my author's notes. I wouldn't mind some honest critique guys, if only to help me separate my insecurities from actual problems. Here's the chapter.**

* * *

_The comfy bed that should surround me is gone. The pillows, sheets, my muscles, my strength are all gone, leaving a scared shell of a thin child. It's terrifying._

_I can't move, I can't see, I can't brea-_

* * *

The next morning in their household was as cheery as the last.

"Good morning Hrafn," Alex greeted as his brother dragged himself into the kitchen.

"Stop being so awake," the boy grumbled, collapsing into his chair. "And pass the coffee already." Alex obliged, pouring out a cup for him and a second for himself.

"It's past 7, you should just go to bed earlier," he chided firmly. "Is Dan up yet up?"

"Kinda." Alex raised an eyebrow at him, but Hrafn was obviously too out of it to elaborate past mumbling something about not being a baby. Picking up his mug he followed his instincts to the lounge where he found Matthias, sure enough, falling back to sleep on one of the chairs (the same one he slept on his first night there, his brain wouldn't let him forget.) He jabbed the teen in the ribs, only just remembering not to touch his stomach, resulting in him merely groaning and rolling over.

"Get up," he ordered, sipping at his coffee. "It's not Saturday yet." Matthias frowned and pressed his eyes shut tighter.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled. "Didn't sleep well. Bad dream."

"About?"

"Bad stuff." His nose twitched slightly in his resting, like a bleary eyed rabbit. "I smell coffee," he slurred, wanting.

"Mine. Yours is in the kitchen."

"Can't you bring it here?" Matthias whined.

"No." Alex stood and wandered away from the couch slowly, taking the delicious smell of their wake-me-up drink with him, luring him almost. It worked eventually and they somehow again made it out of the door in time. Hrafn tried his best to keep up to his brother that morning, as opposed to lagging behind like usual, but it seemed that after he realised that Matthias wouldn't let himself be left out of their conversation he dropped back again. It wasn't until lunch time that he caught Alex alone again.

* * *

"Alex?" The teen looked up as Hrafn slipped into his seat right beside him, setting his tray of food down carefully on the lunch table. He kept his voice low for some reason, trying to disguise the fact he was even talking, but Alex quickly found out why. "Are you going to go to the police about this? At all? It seems like it's not my place to suggest anything but it sounds like it was really bad if you had to take him to the hospital." Both their eyes rose to where the boy in question was standing, in line, talking to Tino about one of the many things that kept the perpetual grins ever adorning their faces, with Berwald following a tad awkwardly behind. Alex drifted into thought for a moment before replying.

"…no." He decided. "Not now. It's ultimately up to Dan if he wants to talk to the police or not, and as much as we'd like to, he's stubborn as an ass, so we can't force him." The answer didn't please Hrafn, only causing his frown to deepen.

"You could push him," he suggested. "He does listen to you sometimes."

"He'll push back stronger." Alex retorted. He continued with a heavy breath. "It may not even do any good. It'll bring his dad back into the picture and he'll get worse. It won't be safe for any of us."

"But the police can protect him-"

"Only if they believe him, and with the record he's made for himself they may think he's just crying for attention. You should know that." Hrafn did know that. He'd known Matthias just as long as Alex had, he thought indignantly, and though similarly to his brother he wasn't usually quick to show it, cared about his wellbeing all the same. Emotion bubbled in his stomach when he thought back to how sad the teen had been over the past few days when he felt no one was looking. He studied Alex's tired face carefully, trying to understand his thoughts better.

"…you don't believe all of that," he concluded. The Norwegian was silent so he pressed on. "You're just trying to sound like you know what you're doing because you hate knowing that you don't have a clue."

"Stop acting like you know what I'm thinking, Hrafn," he scolded, for once glaring properly at him. "It's pretentious."

"I will if you do." The pair was brought to a standstill, neither party backing down from the other's challenge. Back in line, Matthias was still grinning, unaware of the dispute he was causing.

"Fine," Alex ceded. "I don't know exactly what I'm doing, but I still know more than you. If push comes to shove we'll see the police. If this arrangement is fine then it's fine. You were the one convincing me to let him stay here."

"That doesn't mean that's all you should do about something like this." Hrafn ran his hand through his hair, trying not to let his cool demeanour melt or crack with his fervour. "You call him stubborn but you're just as bad. This is your boyfriend's life you're tossing around now isn't it?"

"You don't know the full situation. Stay out of it." How Alex could say something like that with a flat voice was infuriating to say the least. Hrafn felt like erupting and just as his last resolve was about to crack-

"So what's going on over here, darling brother duo? Keeping secrets huh?" Both siblings received a hefty pat (slap) on the back from Matthias who chose that convenient moment to approach them. "Come on, you can tell me, can't ya Icey?"

"It's nothing," Hrafn denied, pushing the larger hand off his back, but Alex had other ideas.

"Hrafn was just asking his darling older brother for dating advice so he can woo his lady of choice," he drawled uninterestedly as if discussing corporate statistics. The others jumped on the statement faster than Hrafn could diffuse it.

"A girl Hrafn? Who is it?" Tino slid into the seat across from him, smiling wide with enthusiasm.

"Is it that pretty little island girl you hang around with?" Matthias chimed in, sliding between the brothers to steal the seat. "She's quite a catch, even if she's lacking in the tits departme-" Alex yanked his hair hard, effectively cutting off the end of his sentence.

"There are children present Dan, and no one wants to hear you rave about breasts anyway." The first remark travelled right through the Dane's ears and into Hrafn's.

"I am not a child," he retorted huffily. "And we are not discussing this as there's nothing to discuss."

"Sounds to me like there is." Matthias taunted with a leering grin. The original conversation derailed quickly into something completely different and Hrafn only picked up on the fact that Alex had managed to orchestrate that after he'd walked off. He was too sneaky for his own good sometimes.

* * *

Later than night when Hrafn started picking up their plates and running the hot water through the tap, Alex stopped him.

"Dan and I can do the dishes." Then boy looked up, puzzled at his brother's sudden helpful attitude. "You just go study or text your girlfriend or something." He flushed remembering that lunchtime's conversation (it had to have been just blind teasing; he never talked to any of them about Michelle...) and then thought maybe this was an apology for that and possibly the fight before it. Not wanting to get into a further argument he simply nodded and quickly left the kitchen. "Tell Dan to get in here when you pass the lounge."

Two minutes later Matthias was begrudgingly dragging himself back into the kitchen, complained from the second he entered.

"I helped with dishes last night babe. I know how much you wanna be with me, but can't I go sleep or something?" Alex flicked water from his hands at Matthias' face (his power to squirt his boyfriend in the face like training a puppy was about the only thing keeping him from making Matthias do the washing while he dried.)

"It's not my fault you didn't sleep well." Matthias gave a noncommittal grunt, shifting uncomfortably at the mentioning of the night before. "That nightmare was about home, wasn't it?" he asked, feigning a casual tone.

"Yeah, kinda, I mean it wasn't anything in particular and it was just a dream, they happen sometimes. You get nightmares too right?" Alex shrugged, scrubbing hard at a resilient piece of casserole glued to a fork. "Hey, don't look so down all the time," Matthias said, abandoning the tea towel in favour of lifting Alex's chin up to face him. "Your brother's right, you are a fusspot."

"I am not," he replied indignantly, pushing his hand away. "Would me laughing at this make you feel better?"

"Well, no," he conceded. "But it all happened in the past now. Besides," he added hesitantly, picking up another dish. "It's not like he left me like you saw me every day. The dream wasn't even about that. It wasn't even about anything. It was just a random bad dream." The speed at which he fired off his rebuffs gave himself away rather blatantly.

"That's rather how you made it sound," Alex informed him bluntly. Matthias frowned further, drying in circles on the plate he held.

"Well, he didn't, not really, so don't think 's not easy to understand," he replied lowly, sounding unsure himself about it. "It's all the physical things you remember and that everyone sees but really it's everything else that screws your head in," he admitted, almost surprising Alex with his brief moment of honesty. Maybe he'd be able to coax more out of him...

"So what else was there?" he prompted.

"I don't really... I'd rather just not..." The moment had passed, but Alex wouldn't let it go.

"You promised. You said you'd try and tell me more." Matthias frowned further, feeling the sting of his own promise used against him. "You haven't really been keeping that promise." Matthias exhaled heavily, placing his dishtowel and dried plate down on the bench.

"I dunno Nor, he'd just... look at me like I was crap, then I'd start feeling like I am, then sometimes he wouldn't even do that and he'd just ignore me but that wasn't any better because then I'd be waiting for it to happen and I'd expect that every time I spoke he'd yell at me about how much of a screw up I am, and even when he didn't, I would wait for it then I'd be so nervous until we were completely away from each other, ya know?" His voice rose on the last syllables to add the questioning tone, and for the first time Alex noticed it. Not a necessary question, but just one of confirmation; that was what had been bothering him.

"I see." He paused briefly. "Are you nervous now?"

"Kinda, I guess. Ya know talking about him isn't helping," he tried to joke, adding a weak chuckle. Alex shrugged again and Matthias dove at the chance to take the conversation away from that train of thought. "So does Icey actually have a crush on someone or were you just making that up? He got flustered and left so I'm not entirely sure, but it kinda seemed like he was trying to hide something didn't it?" There it was again.

"I believe it had an inkling of truth," he said honestly.

"I knew it! And I bet it is that island girl, unless it's that Asian boy, but Icey's straight isn't he?" And again.

"That's what he says." Matthias grinned and continued his ramblings, only allowing small spaces for Alex to voice his one-lined opinions. Now that he had noticed this habit, he knew he wouldn't stop noticing it and for that time being he definitely didn't. All the questions were piling up and Alex stopped wanting to keep track. As soon as the last plate was stacked away, he voiced his thoughts.

"Have you always questioned every statement you make?" he asked, watching Matthias hop up onto the counter, taking a seat beside the draining board.

"What?"

"Nearly everything you say is a question. Is that on purpose?" The Dane cocked his head with a confused look, trying to figure out the question.

"Uh, I guess not since I haven't noticed..." He tried to think back on his talking habits, but admittedly he said too much in a day to remember it all. "I don't question everything, do I?"

"That was a question." Matthias snorted.

"That doesn't count. Seriously Alex."

"Well I started counting 10 minutes ago and stopped when I got to fifteen." Matthias paused, taking the information in.

"Oh... really?" Alex nodded. "I guess I just wanna hear you talk then?" And even that was a question.

"It's your life, don't ask me." The frown on his face stayed stuck, reminding him of its presence once again. He'd been frowning too much that evening; his mask was slipping...

"Well, I think that's far too much thinking I've done tonight." He announced, sudden cheerfulness bursting out. "Seriously, we should take more time to talk about the good stuff in life, like... I dunno, pizza." The grin was forced and fake and he knew it, but he pushed on anyway. "I should head to bed; a guy's gotta sleep and all, even guys as awesome as me." He jumped back down from the bench, stepping over to Alex to kiss him goodnight. There was no response. "Nat nat." He walked off at a fast pace down the hall, not once looking back, until he got to his room. He was getting worse at this.

* * *

That night, the scene came back worse than ever. He awoke with a shock, limbs curled tightly against his body, and stared into the coal black that continued to surround him. He couldn't find the strength to stretch his arms out to the lamp. The darkness crept in and suffocated him once more.

* * *

**A/N: Always gotta have two authors notes. I might post some LStE universe info on my Tumblr (because the good Lord knows I do more planning of this story than writing) so look out for those. Sociallyinadequate is my tumblr btw. It's currently nothing interesting. =w=**

* * *

/quirky-turkey

/quirky-turkey


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